Author: KC Andrus
Source: ezinearticles.com

Pitchers control the entire game of baseball, it is one, drills
, of the most coveted positions in the game. Think about it, the game can go absolutely, drills
, nowhere unless the pitcher throws the ball. With all this power in their hands pitchers, drills
, need to feel confident on the mound. This will enable them to pound the strike zone with and at a high velocity. The most prudent way to do this is to improve your pitching mechanics, drills
, . So how do you improve your pitching mechanics? What’s the most important thing, drills
, to focus on? Here are some drills to help out.

1. Extension, drills
, Drill- This drill is fantastic, drills
, for making sure you are fully extended and releasing the ball out in front. Simply, drills
, drop to one knee and put your throwing elbow in your glove out in front of your face. Then throw the ball using only a flick of your wrist, concentrating on getting that good extension and producing, drills
, consistent, drills
, results. This will help improve your velocity as well by improving the rate at which, drills
, the ball comes out of your hand and helping you reach further towards home, in effect putting you closer to the plate, drills
, .

2. On a Knee- This drill still requires you to remain on one knee. All you need to do to, drills
, perform this drill, drills
, is to find a partner and play catch on a knee, drills
, . The thing you need to focus and this drill will really help, drills
, is your follow through and finish. It is very important that you concentrate on your throwing arm finishing over the opposite knee. This drill will help create great consistency within your throwing motion.

These are only a couple drills that will help with your pitching mechanics. This drills in particular help with your actually arm motion, but there is so much more to pitching mechanics than your arm action. There are many pitching mechanics drills that will help you improve both the velocity and command of your pitches. Follow the link below to learn how you can add 10 mph to your fastball”

Pitching Mechanics Drills

A very Merry Christmas and healthy, Happy New Year to all DirtDogs and their families everywhere!

If you have gone on a family camping trip and found out that you made some bad choices when it comes to pitching your tent, here are some things to remember. Things you will want to do include placing your tent in a flat dry area preferably on a slight incline to provide runoff if it rains. We pitched our family camping tents in a low area one time and it came up that night and rained. We found ourselves in a puddle and had to evacuate to our friend’s van. The wind blew and finally our camping tent collapsed. The next morning we packed up our soggy tent and placed it in the back of our pickup. The camper next door came over and said “sure glad I wasn’t sleeping in that tent last night”. We had to control ourselves from exploding into laughter as we realized this man didn’t know that he was talking to the people that had been sleeping in that tent.

Be sure that there are no rocks, branches or other objects that would prove to be uncomfortable to lie on or might puncture your tent. Position the opening away from the wind to keep you warm. If you are unsure of the wind direction, throw something lightweight into the air and see which way it goes. Always drive tent stakes in very good and tie lines as if you thought it was going to storm. Make sure the area you pick does not have a tree above with loose limbs, as they could fall on your tent. Keep your tent clean and crumb free, crumbs attract ants and bugs.

There are many things to consider when selecting backpacking tents. First and probably the most important is to find lightweight and compact backpacking tents. The fabric that your tent is made of should be nylon. There are three-season tents and four-season tents. Three season tents are the most popular and are great spring, summer, or fall. Four season tents are designed for heavy snow conditions for those extreme hikers, bikers, hunters and outdoorsmen. If you travel very far on you backpacking trip you will definitely notice the difference a few pounds can make.

Also it is very important that your backpacking tents keep you warm and comfortable. Keeping warm and dry in your tent helps reduce stress and gives you confidence when are sleeping. Knowing that when you get up to start your trip the next morning you will be fresh, alert and full of vital energy. What is a person tent? This is a fancy name for a tent that typically holds anywhere from 1-7 people. There is an A-frame style and a dome style. The A-frame is suitable for up to 3 persons because of the limited space it has. A dome tent is the best choice for many individuals.

If you are looking for a specific size and you know how many people you are wanting to accommodate, then by categorizing the tent as a person tent, you can find what you are looking with a person tent.

Choosing the right camping tent [http://www.deluxecampingtents.com] or backpacking tent [http://www.deluxecampingtents.com/backpacking-tents] can be the foundation for a great vacation. -Brenda Fought (Camping Enthusiast)

Visit : Cheap Coleman Tents

Colin Cowherd of ESPN is a genius.  Why do a say this?

Because I am a genius.  At certain things anyway.  And geniuses think alike.

I posted this morning that I couldn’t believe how exited Yankee fans and New York sports talk show hosts (who should know better) were over the recent Yankee trade that brought the Yankees the mediocrity that is Javier Vazquez.

It’s not that it wasn’t a good trade.  It’s just that everyone seemed to be reacting like it was the biggest deal ever and ignoring the hard truth that pitching in the AL is way tougher than pitching in the NL like Vazquez did last year when he had his career year.  (Sorry for the super long sentence)

I noted in my morning post that none of the so-called experts had bothered to temper their callers excitement by suggesting that Vazquez might not be an ace in the AL East.

This morning, I tuned into Colin Cowherd on 1050 AM and he restored some of my faith in sports talk radio.  There was Colin making all the same points as me.

Good trade.  Not cause for celebration.  He won 14 games last year in a career year feasting on the Pirates and Nationals.  Now he’ll be facing the Sox and Rays.

Good luck, Javier.

Two men of genius think you’re gonna need it…

Yesterday, the Yankees “stole” Javier Vazquez from the Atlanta Braves.  At least, that’s what every sports radio talk show host and Yankee fan callers were saying. 

As I was listening to all the celebration, I was shocked at one key fact that EVERYONE overlooked.  And here it is.

Javier Vazquez, who is coming off a career year at 32, put together his one great season in the National League.  Things will be different in the American League.  There simply is a HUGE difference between pitching in the NL and AL. 

Vazquez isn’t posting a sub 3.o0 ERA next year.  Not saying he’ll be a disaster, but he’s not going to challenge anyone for anything beyond the fourth spot in the Bombers’ rotation. 

It’s not that it wasn’t a decent trade. But, what I’m warning against is believing it’s going to make a huge difference.  Vazquez simply won’t be that good in the American League.

Don’t believe me?

Fine.  Than, check out this excellent post at Baseball Evolution, which more than makes the case.  Turns out there’s a very good reason Roger Clemens pitched 3 of his last 4 years in the NL.

He was no dummy…

http://baseballevolution.com/asher/00052.html

It’s not about the must-have Tickle Me Elmo this year, it’s about the savings. This year, pitching holiday gift guides was much different from years past. It was important to be cognizant of the economic climate and to position products by highlighting  the added value or the savings.

When pitching a product, it’s necessary to understand the current environment. Public relations professionals must keep current on news and current events. Whether it is the Tiger Woods scandal or the health care reform, both events can play an important part in pitching any product.

Pitching is much more than picking up the phone, dialing a number and saying, “Hello, I’m so and so calling on behalf of blank.” Here’s a few things to remember for your next pitch:

1. Conduct a media audit. Research the journalist and their particular beat. Read at least six of their articles and find a commonality. Thoroughly investigating their writing builds trust in the future conversation.

2. Practice makes perfect. It might seem silly to close the door and read your pitch out loud, but give it a try! I promise this will command more respect over the phone -confidence is key when selling a product or idea.

3. Tailor your pitch. It’s o.k. to have a universal pitch, but when you have completed your research, it’s important to personalize  the conversation to create an open dialogue.

4. Lead with a current industry trend or event. Get in the trenches with your journalists. These people are constantly scouring the news for the next best story. If you are as up to speed as they are, then you can lend more credibility.

Also, check out fashion PR blogger Yuli Ziv sharing her e-mail tips on making your pitch blogger friendly. And, if you’re wondering how not to pitch, check out The Bad Pitch Blog for the best examples. Hopefully you don’t find your pitch posted!

How do you prepare to pitch? Share your tips and stories and have a fabulous holiday, fashionistas!

According to a report from Globedia.com the Mets and the White Sox are the “front runners” to sign 28 year-old Yunieski Maya from Cuba. According to the report he is only waiting to be declared a free agent by the MLB. His manager,  Edgar Mercedes says although he is technically not a free agent now, he should be able to be ready for Spring Training. According to the report Maya was the “the best pitcher on the Cuban National Team last year,” a team that included the extremely coveted Aroldis Chapman. This past season while pitching in Cuba, Maya had a 13-4 record with a 2.22 ERA. While pitching in the World Baseball Classic, he had 1.23 ERA through 7 innings, compared to Aroldis Chapman who had a 5.68 ERA in the WBC.

I like the idea of signing Maya. He’s got a good fastball in the low 90s, but mixes it in with a great change up. His slider is his second best pitch, and he also throws a curve. I’ve heard he somehow mixes these two pitches and throws a slurve at times too. Cuba is always known for being a great baseball club and to be considered  the best pitcher on the team is something to be proud of. I’m hoping the Mets can snatch him up before he gets as much hype as Chapman considering Maya is Major League ready and at 28 is most likely more mature than the 21 year-old Chapman. We are starting to see alot of these behind the scenese moves that Minaya is doing, but I think if he wants to keep his job, he is going to have to do some tangible work such as actually bringing in game changing players and this is an example if he can sign Maya. We hear alot about offers and failed trades, but that is not how championship teams are made, and that is definately not why GM’s get paid. Hopefully if Omar doesn’t get the ball rolling soon, the people in charge will take notice and do something about it.

Since it is the Holiday Season (all traditions are included here), here is Great Gear Recommendation #3:  Bedtime Stories for Young Athletes by Dr. Jay P. Granat, Ph.D. This is an age-appropriate sports psychology resource which is fun for kids to use and should absolutely be on the giving list for any DirtDog Baseball parents this year!

One of the greater challenges in preparing youth athletes for participation in high-level competition involves “head games” which can contribute as much to success or failure on the field of play as do physical skills. Adults know that success depends as much on a confident state of mind as anything else (hence the booming industry of self-help and motivational materials available today), and kids also need to discover this as they grow. The emotional development and temperament of youth athletes along with their ability to constructively handle stress are unique concerns requiring active mental and spiritual conditioning.

Bedtime Stories for Young Athletes is a unique program developed by world-reknowned sports psychologist Dr. Jay P. Granat (psychotherapist and founder of www.StayInTheZone.com) which is designed to help young athletes perform to their fullest potential. Using this program which consists of 23 short, inspirational bedtime stories on 2 CDs, kids can learn to develop their mental “Zone” and stay calm, confident, focused and optimistic. Each engaging segment is just 6 minutes long, and is meant to reach kids at bedtime when they are relaxed and their imaginations are open to new ideas and ways of thinking, performing and competing. Your youth athlete can simply listen to one installment a night and learn how to get into their “Zone” and stay there. The short segments can also be re-played as pre-game mental preparation.

I can speak from experience that my own 12 year-old DirtDog son Matt has found these stories very enjoyable, and carries them with him on his IPod. A complimentary copy of Dr. Granat’s book Get Into The Zone In Just One Minute is also included.

“Every day, I get calls from athletes, parents and coaches who want to improve performance. The callers tend to be frustrated, lacking in confidence, choking, stuck in a slump or losing to players they should beat. I teach them how to be calm, focused, confident and optimistic. I show them what they need to do get into the zone…” –Dr. Jay P. Granat.

About the Author:

Jay P. Granat, Ph.D. is a psychotherapist and the founder of http://www.stayinthezone.com. He has written several books and developed several programs to help people perform to their fullest potential at sports, work and school. Dr. Granat is a former university professor and has appeared in the New York Times, Good Morning America, AP, ESPN, Golf Digest, The BBC and The CBC. He can be reached at info@stayinthezone.com. His books include Zone Tennis and Get Into The Zone In Just One Minute. He is also the author of How To Get Into The Zone With Sport Psychology and Self-Hypnosis, How To Lower Your Golf Score With Sport Psychology and Self-Hypnosis, 101 Ways To Break Out Of A Hitting Slump and Bedtime Stories for Young Athletes. Golf Digest named Dr. Granat one of America’s Top Ten Mental Gurus. He has been featured in a documentary film on long-distance running and writes a weekly column for three newspapers.

To Order:

Follow this link to learn more and order a copy of Bedtime Stories for Young Athletes: http://www.stayinthezone.com/shop-stay-in-the-zone.html?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=66.

As always, DirtDog Baseball receives no promotional renumeration or consideration for making Great Gear Recommendations. All products recommended here are strictly based on first-hand experience.

Things Learned from an NFL speed coach…

I became a speed coach almost by accident. I had an interest in exercise as a young kid and loved playing sports. I became addicted to speed and began to get books and videos on the subject. From the early beginnings, I increased my knowledge and then put it into practice. In college, I began training a college basketball player. I learned a lot of lessons then. I heard the quote to be successful, find someone who has the results you want and find out what they do. That is exactly what I did. I found one early on. He is the off-season speed coach for an NFL team. From him I learned a lot of interesting theories and concepts involving speed and sport performance.

Things Learned from an Olympic sprint coach…

 This coach had a group of 30 teenage kids from one city and 8 become world class sprinters, reaching the Olympics. How many coaches do you know have done this? This coach has had a large influence on my training programs. In fact, Part #1 of this article series was a result of his influence. One of his teachings is to put athletes into the correct position without coaching them to do so.

Powerful Speed & Acceleration Exercise #5: Medicine Ball Throws

One way to do this is medicine ball throws. Medicine ball throws provide athletes with the ability to improve explosiveness and first step quickness. I recommend younger kids perform 10-30 throws a workout using a 4-6 lb. ball, while older kids will perform as many as 30-50 throws using an 8-12 lb. ball.

Simply by knowing and applying these little-known Powerful Exercises you’ll be 99% ahead of any competitor. Here’s to your success!

Author Links
This series is reproduced with permission by Roger White M. Ed., C.S.C.S.  For more information on developing athletic speed please visit http://developingyouthspeed.com.

“The world had teeth and it could bite you with them anytime it wanted.”

When nine-year-old Trisha MacFarland turns off the Appalachian Trail for a moment of relief from her ever-bickering brother and mom she becomes lost deep in the woods. As she wends her way farther through the thick forests she eats up her small stock of food and applies the few teachings about wilderness survival she’s learned, gathering occasional nuts and berries, and drinking down splashes of nauseating stream water. The loneliness grows and Trisha has only broadcasts of Boston Red Sox games on her Walkman to keep her company. She listens in each night in the hopes that’s she’ll hear her favorite player, the game-saving pitcher Tom Gordon, hopes that call forth memories and dreams of her father, with whom she shares a deep bond over baseball. Meanwhile, she’s wasting away.

As Trisha’s hopes of rescue dwindle she begins to sense that something out there is following her. Something sitting on the edges of the dark around her encampments watching, something leaving blood-spills and beheaded animals in its wake. “She could feel eyes crawling on her skin the way the little bugs, the minges and noseeums, crawled there.” Are these hallucinations brought on by a bad patch of berries? Are these illusions conjured from the deepest recesses of a young girl’s fears? Temporary insanity? Or is “the world a worst-case scenario…the skin of (it) woven with stingers,” and the wasp-faced “God of the Lost” come to tear her apart?

The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King is a powerful, inspired and tightly-written story of survival and psychological horror. In Trisha MacFarland, King creates a dynamic, at times funny, central character full of resource, grit, resolve and courage; I absolutely fell in love with her. Early on I thought I didn’t need the creature stalking Trisha in the woods – her survival story without it is terrifying enough – but King shows us that survival and horror are not mutually exclusive, but rather, intertwined. He has masterfully stitched together the story of one girl’s struggle to live with underlying questions about God and monsters, the beauty of game-saving pitching strategy, a father-daughter relationship, and the fact of our deepest fears in profound, moving ways.

Readalikes: Hatchet, The Hunger Games, and The Road.

(Jarrett, The Loft)

A pitcher may have a strong arm and great mechanics, but if he doesn’t think about the batter’s strengths and weaknesses he will be less effective. A good pitcher will know which of his pitches the batter can or can’t hit. This is just as true in select ball as it is in the majors. The younger the batters are, the more weaknesses they have. Young pitchers have a great advantage if they think about the batters. Below are some tips you might find helpful.

Get to know your friendly umpire.
In my opinion the toughest job in baseball has to be umpiring. No matter what the call, they are in the wrong. Learn his strike zone, these vary from ump to ump but they are usually consistent through out the game. If you are the visiting team you have an advantage, watch every pitch the home team pitcher throws and learn that strike zone. One last thing, umps do miss calls, don’t react negatively or have bad body language. Sometimes you will get a bad call that goes your way. Always remember you never know who is watching in the stands.

Get ahead in the count.
Try to get “ahead” of the batter with the first pitch. This doesn’t mean to throw a fastball waist-high and over the middle of the plate. Try to get the ball in the strike zone where you think the batter is weakest. If the batter is off the plate there is only one pitch to throw, fast ball over the outside corner. If the batter is crowding the plate try throwing inside, get the ball inside the batter hands. If he looks strong at the plate and you are unfamiliar with him, your best pitch is always low and outside or high and inside.

Study the batters.
Once through the line-up most pitchers should know a little something about the batters. It’s not necessary to learn everything about every hitter. You will be very successful if you find three or four batters with weaknesses that you can strike out consistently.

Know the situation.
The situation usually dictates what pitch to throw. With a runner on 2nd or 3rd with one out they should be trying to get a sac fly you may want to pitch high, which will increase the chances of a pop-up. If the runner on 3rd streaks for home on a suicide play, you will have to make adjustments on the fly, you need to keep the ball away from the batter and spot it where the catcher can make the tag. Try throwing at the feet of a right hand batter, a pitch-out is recommended if a left hand batter is at the plate. If the pitcher suspects a steal, he shouldn’t throw a slow curve but stick to the fast ball. When when you have a full count on a batter, you should go to your best pitch. If you curve or slider is working that day then use one of those pitches. If it’s the fast ball, use the fast ball. Remember, that the best pitch may vary from day to day. Try not to throw the same pitch twice in a row. Change speeds and move the ball around the strike zone. Remember the corners of a plate can be a pitcher’s best friend, use them often. What you are trying to do is to upset the batter’s timing. This is especially important when the pitcher is facing the top of the line-up best.. A hard hit foul is just another strike. If you get to a 0-2 count on the batter you should waste the next pitch, throw a dirty curveball or a slider out of the zone. Spot the ball where batter can’t possibly hit it.

Don’t ease up on the weak.
Don’t throw curve ball a weaker batter. Do not let up on a weaker batter! If the batter is really weak, try overpowering him with a fast ball. Throwing a curve or change up to a weaker batter is a mistake. Throwing a slow speed pitch may be the only one a weaker hitter can get his bat on.

Don’t reinvent the wheel.
If you’re getting a batter out regularly with one pitch, don’t start experimenting with other pitches, stay with what is working that day.

Finally.
If you’re striking a lot of batters out and the game is going stay in that groove and pace and keep the game moving along. If the game is not going as expected or you hit a rough spot in a game slow down take a deep breath and don’t let the other team stay in their groove.

Baseball is a very mental game. Make sure to stay focused and think about every pitch. Remember what coaches tell batters. “it only takes one” Don’t throw him that “one”.

For more articles and helpful info join our social network for athletes.
Click Here to sign up.

  
A new free online tool was added to your PR Workbench this month: Pitch with Me.

We have seen many new media relations tools and apps launched this year claiming to be more useful than the rest. Most of these are just more of the same: new ways to blast out PR Spam, SEO “experts” who think they know more about Google than you do, and Social Media monitoring tools that actually do nothing but look cool. 

Pitch With Me rises above this PR app jam not with a glitzier app, but with a new concept in media relations. Or rather, a time-tested and proven concept put into an online form.

The idea of teaming up two or more clients for a story pitch has worked inside large agencies for decades. Agencies not only created a more attractive package, but also created efficiencies with resources and time.  But smaller firms and independent practitioners often saw an industry peer as a competitor rather than a symbiotic friend.

Journalists will use what they need and toss the rest anyway, so why not offer more to potentially use? And you never know when your partner’s a story may be what grabs someone’s attention.

Kudos to Heather Whaling for creating this online bullpen of potential collaborators! You can check out co-pitching opportunities on the site or by following @pitchwithme. If anyone has used Pitch With Me already, please share your comments here.

As I’m sure you can imagine, coordinating a writers’ conference is no easy task. But, now that I’m into my second round of pulling everything together for a Pennwriters’ annual conference, I have found one advantage that far outshines all the rest: agents are no longer scary.

I remember attending my first conference back in the 90s as a newbie to the world of fiction publishing. Forgetting for a minute that my head was spinning after three jam-packed days of classes and networking, one of the biggest impressions I walked away with was that agents didn’t seem to be everyday, ordinary folk. Why else would all those writers who were pitching novels look so nervous?

Now I know better. After tossing ideas back and forth about workshop topics, scheduling and rescheduling train tickets, and arranging special accommodations around dietary needs, nothing could be clearer: agents are people, too.

Of course, you don’t have to go the route of being a conference coordinator to have a nerve-calming epiphany. If you’re worried that your nerves are going to trip you up when you pitch your book to the agent of your dreams, try a few of these suggestions.

1. Do your research. As my grandmother would say, there’s more information out there “than you can shake a stick at.” Don’t just limit yourself to pulling up an agent’s website. Google them. Search them out on YouTube. Talk to the members of your writers’ group.

When I’m choosing editors and agents to invite to a conference, I start with a list of who wants what. At Agent Query (www.agentquery.com) you can search listings by genre, city, and keyword. I check Preditors and Editors to make sure everyone’s in good standing. Then I Google individual names, looking specifically for Q&A interviews and forums. The discussions at Absolute Write’s Water Cooler are very enlightening. I surf other conferences’ sites and contact their coordinators for input. My last step is to check YouTube. Video clips give me a great idea of what kind of public speaker an agent or editor is.

2. Participate in a pitch practice. Pennwriters schedules a workshop on pitching practice before the conference pitch appointments begin, and some of our area critique groups hold pitch camps. There’s no better — and safer — way to work out the kinks in your pitch. Practicing in the mirror is fine. So is testing out your pitch on your best friend. But if you want serious, pin-pointed feedback, do a pitch practice.

In 2010, CJ Lyons (she writes medical thrillers for Berkley) will be leading our conference workshop. She’ll be opening the hour with some basic information, but the majority of the session will be spent asking for volunteers who want to give their pitch to her in front of the class. It’s a hard thing for a writer to do, given that we’re usually at our best when we’re alone writing our stories. But the theory is that if you can do it for CJ, you’ll be able to do it for an agent.

3. Chat with agents after hours. And I don’t mean lay in wait in the hallway near their room or stalk them as they head into the bar. Some of the best pitches are given outside official pitch appointment hours as part of a casual conversation between a writer and an agent.

One of my writer friends told me of his impromptu pitch over dinner at the 2009 Pennwriters Conference. He sat down with his wife, who was chatting with another gentleman at the table. Around the time dessert was served, this gentleman, who turned out to be a well-known agent, asked her if she had a book to pitch. “Oh, I’m not the writer,” she said. “My husband is…” Would you be ready for a perfect opening like that? My friend was, and he left the dinner table that night with the agent’s business card and a request to send his first three chapters.

If you’re at the point where your manuscript is finished and you’re ready to meet an agent face to face, be prepared. But above all, don’t be nervous. Agents are people, too.

Ayleen

*     *     *     *     *

Ayleen Stellhorn is the coordinator for Pennwriters’ 2010 Annual Writers Conference, which takes place May 14-16 at the Best Western Eden Resort in Lancaster, PA. Among the 8 agents and editors hearing pitches that weekend are Barbara Lalicki, senior vice president of HarperCollins Children; Janet Reid, FinePrint Literary Management; and Jennifer Jackson, Donald Maass Literary Agency. In addition to her one-hour pitch practice session as part of the conference, author CJ Lyons will also present a pre-conference seminar for writers who are ready to send their materials to agents and editors. Crafting Your Fiction Query Package addresses query letters, synopses, and the infamous “elevator pitch.” Find out more at www.pennwriters.com.

When I first heard of the 3 team trade that gets the Phillies Roy Halladay and loses them Cliff Lee, I nearly jumped off my balcony in disgust.  That was until i started looking at their career stats and those over the last few years.  My first thought was why get rid of a veteran left handed ace for a veteran right handed one but the numbers just jump off the page! Halladay dominates Lee in every pitching statistic from wins to opponents batting average, pitches per inning to ground ball double plays.  Not bad for someone who’s about to go from the Blue Jays to the Phillies.

I am a huge fan of John Paul Newport’s golf column which runs every Saturday in the Wall Street Journal. I wish I was able to pick up the phone and interview Phil Mickelson the way he did in his last column! Phil has a DVD Set “Secrets of the Short Game” that you have probably seen an ad for if you are a frequent visitor of golf web sites. I am definitely adding this to my Christmas list!

I am going to lift this entire paragraph from the article, because for me, it was a provocative and important one:

With chipping and pitching, however, he’s adamant there’s only one effective technique: his technique, which he calls “hinge and hold.” He cocks his wrists immediately upon taking the club away from the ball, and holds that angle while accelerating the hands toward the target even after impact. “I’ve studied it, and all the great chippers through history have chipped this way,” he said. As for amateurs, of the 200 or so he plays with annually in pro-ams or outings, “maybe only two or three know how to chip correctly,” he said.

One of the main reasons I remain a 16 handicap is because I cannot chip the ball. I don’t know if it is technique, the yips, or what. It will be one of my main areas of attention in 2010. I intend on getting his books and, if Santa is kind to me, watching his DVD. I will be anxious to discuss this also with the golf professionals I come in contact with, to get their view.

Here is the link to the entire article: Hinge and Hold. There are several other points I’ll bring up in future blogs.

May Hinge and Hold bring you More Pars in the years to come!

Matt

Carrasco quitely became one of Chicago's more stable relievers.

You would think that pitchers who post sub-4.00 FIPs in the American League for two years running would be a valuable commodity. You would also think that, when being paid the Major League minimum salary, the player is a bargain. So giving such a pitcher a raise from about $400k a year to say, $2 million doesn’t seem like a big deal right?

Apparently the White Sox were not willing to do so.

DJ Carrasco, formerly a Royals prospect and now a solid big league bullpen guy, has been non-tendered by Chicago. Apparently the South Siders were not willing to risk paying him an arbitration award, which would have likely been $2-3 million tops. For what it’s worth, Carrasco was worth $5.8MM last year.

Considering the fact that the team lost Octavio Dotel to free agency, it would have made sense to bring back the younger, cheaper player in DJ Carrasco. You can’t exactly burn Kenny Williams at the stakes for this move but the bullpen would have only been better with one of these guys back.

If the team offered him arbitration and tried to trade him, he wouldn’t be worth hardly anything because of his impending salary. While small, it would more or less eliminate small-market teams from the Sox’ list of trade candidates. But someone will throw him a one-year, $1MM deal and reap the benefits soon enough.

ERA, or Earned Run Average is the most commonly used measure for a pitcher’s propensity to give up runs. It is displayed as the number of runs given up per nine innings pitched and is calculated by taking the totally number of earned runs a pitcher has given up and dividing it by the total number of innings pitched. This number is then multiplied by 9 to give the average of 9 innings. It only counts “earned runs” meaning that runs given up as a result of a batter reaching base via an error, or runs given up after an error fails to end an innings are discounted. It is part of the pitching triple crown.

Whereas batting average was one of the first statistics that I was able to get my head around and understand, ERA was one that remained baffling for quite a while after I began to be acquainted with the various other intricacies of baseball. The main reason for this is probably due to the various complexities that are wrapped up within in. The first being that unlike batting average, which is a simple value/quantity calculation, ERA brings in the complication of doing it by innings as well. While this does not seem like it is especially confusing, it does add an extra layer to the onion of ERA that must be unwrapped before you get to the crisp centre of understanding.

The most difficult to peel of these layers is the idea of the unearned run. My first understanding of this was that unearned runs were those that were given up once the pitcher had been substituted for another pitcher. My belief was that they were unearned in that case because the pitcher himself had not actually given up those runs, it was a teammates fault and therefore they should not count towards making his own statistics worse. Of course I soon learnt that this was not the case, but that initial belief means that I still think it slightly unfair that a pitcher has runs counted against him once he has sat down in the dugout. (as evidenced by cameras inevitably cutting to a dejected-looking pitcher sat down on the bench once his replacement has given up vital runs that he left out on the bases) But equally I understand the reasoning behind the fact that he is still responsible for those men getting on base and so he should be held responsible for them reaching home plate.

The definition of an earned run is something that is still somewhat complicated, and is another way that makes ERA that bit more inaccessible than its offensive statistical counterpart batting average. While both hinge around the judgement of whether an occurence in the field is judged as an error or not, further judgement calls must be made for ERA that make it a more arguable stat.

The more simple part of the Earned Run rule is the idea that a batter who has reached base via an error would not count towards an pitcher’s earned run total if he comes round to score. The more contentious concept is that of discounting runs after an error has been made that could have brought an end to the inning. The problem with this is that by their nature, inning-ending outs are made in high-pressure situations, so the decision to gauge whether a missed out is an error is often highly subjective. The highest occurence of arguments over rulings of this sort come with one out when the error is part of a failed double-play. Aside from the very routine sort, double plays are often turned at high-speed and requiring precision on the part of all the fielders involved. If the double play fails to be turned then sometimes one person may see it as a bungled play, while another may just see it as a failed attempt to turn a difficult play.

Whereas batting average calls on errors may affect a single ruling as a hit or not, in ERA it is possible that a judgement call on earned or unearned runs can lead to multiple runs being either counted or not counted to a pitchers ERA. Because of this all of these intricacies, ERA may be the statistic that is most often discounted or overlooked out of all commonly used stats when looking in-depth at a player’s performance.

Looking at a player’s ERA during a season can also be fairly unhelpful as a measure of their performance. Specifically with relievers, one bad outing could leave them with a terrible-looking ERA weeks or months down the line even if they have performed well in the interim. Take a typical LOOGY. He usually comes in to pitch for only one or two outs. Because of this, if he comes into a game and for whatever reason gives up 4 or 5 runs, then because he does not pitch many innings at a time, it will take many many games of giving up few or no runs before he will be able to bring his ERA down.

Despite all these apparent problems, ERA remains a stat that follows around pitchers in the same way that AVG follows batters. It is a stat that fans are able to glance at next to their player and immediately get a vague idea of how they are performing. It becomes much more important as a career measure, as over a longer timeframe, all the various inflations and deflations will tend to even themselves out. So as a statistic its far from perfect, but then like bad calls by umpires and misplays and errors, it is the imperfections in sport that give us something to talk about.

During yesterday’s Publicity Club of Chicago monthly luncheon, panelists discussed how PR pros can make the most of positioning local pitches with a national perspective.

The panel included Susan Caraher, Assignment Manager for ABC News’ Chicago Bureau, Jeff Flock, Chicago reporter for FOX Business Network and Ron Schofield, regional video producer for the Associated Press.

All three panelists harped the fact that they are inundated with irrelevant, off-target pitches each and every day. Jeff even noted on the spot that he had over 650 unread emails alone sitting in his inbox. Interestingly, Jeff also remarked that he felt that the press release was a requirement of the past. Instead, he made the point that reporters like himself are now rarely looking beyond the first 4-5 sentences of a pitch to determine whether or not they are interested in the story idea.

Along with a host of other tips, the panelists drove home these key reminders and pitching tips for PR pros:

1. Build relationships – Commend reporters if you like their stories, show that you pay attention to the topics they cover and build relevance as to why you are a contact they should keep in mind.

2. Be timely – Follow the wires, see what’s trending for news that day and keep in mind that big stories are the primary focus of every reporter – especially regional contacts such as the panelists.

3. Don’t sell, build a story – Reporters aren’t going to just write about a product – that’s an advertisement. Show the larger story and demonstrate how it relates to a larger audience.

I had the opportunity to snag Ron for a few minutes after the luncheon to recap some of these key tips. Apologies for the loud background audio, Ron was a popular guy so I had to grab what I could. Thanks Ron!

-Scott

To the surprise of no one, the Yankees resigned Andy Pettitte for the 2010 season, inking the big lefty to an $11.75 million contract.

As it stands today, the Yankees’ 2010 rotation is as follows:

Obviously Hughes’ FIP numbers are skewed as his 2009 total is primarily a function of his relief appearances, and Bill James appears to have projected Hughes as a reliever for 2010, because — as much as I love Hughes — there’s no way Hughes the starter will post an FIP of 3.35 in 2010, which would be good for tops on this projected staff. James — who as mentioned previously is notoriously generous in his rankings, but I don’t have any other projection systems to go off of at this point in time — has all five starters on this Yankee staff posting sub-4.00 FIPs, which would almost certainly make it the strongest rotation in baseball.

Of course, we really don’t know what we’ll get out of Chamberlain in his second full season as a starter (although it will almost certainly be better than a 4.82 FIP) or Hughes in what will hopefully be his first full season in the rotation. Still, if this is the rotation that the Yankees were to enter the 2010 season with, I’m on board with it.

However, this being the Yankees, along with Brian Cashman’s desire to stockpile as much pitching as possible, it seems unlikely that the Yankees stand pat on the starting pitching front for the remainder of the offseason. Here are the five starters I’ve heard come up in connection to the Yanks most often so far this offseason:

Note: Sheets’ and Duchscherer’s FIPs are from 2008. Bill James doesn’t have a projection for Sheets for 2010.

Halladay is of course the top hypothetical prize of the winter, but he also costs the most by far, requiring both elite players/prospects and a probable $100 million extension. We know the Yankees will keep tabs on Halladay, and as Joe at RAB notes, if the price comes down from Montero and one of Joba/Hughes, the Yankees may still acquire Halladay, although it still seems unlikely. As previously noted here, however, adding Halladay to the current Yankee rotation (and likely subtracting Chamberlain or Hughes) would cement the best rotation and baseball and give the team two legitimate shut-down aces in Halladay and Sabathia — something that could be too tempting for the Yankees to pass up as visions of a two-headed-ace-anchored 2010 playoff run en route to a successful defense of the title and 28th championship dance through their heads.

Moving on, we have John Lackey (who Mike covets), who will also be expensive but not require the ceding of prospects. The consensus on Lackey is that he’s looking for Burnett money. While Lackey and Burnett’s career numbers are actually fairly close, and one could probably make a case for Lackey even being slightly better than Burnett, I’m still not entirely sold on dropping $85 million for five years of Lackey.

I’d rather take a flier on one (or perhaps two, depending on what kind of contracts can be worked out) of the reclamation projects. Sheets, Harden and Duchscherer all have solid track records and have all at one time been very good Major League pitchers. Harden’s primary concern is his perceived brittleness and inability to work deep into games. He is also a career 131 ERA+ pitcher. Sheets (career 115 ERA+) has also suffered his share of injuries over the years, but after not pitching for a year and a half I’d love to see what he can do while healthy. Duchscherer (career 138 ERA+) is someone who many at RAB were lobbying for pre-trade deadline back in July, and I wouldn’t mind bringing a guy with his pedigree in. All three of these guys are the definition of low-risk, high-reward. I know the Sox tried to go this route a year ago, but an ancient John Smoltz and deteriorating Brad Penny are quite a different story than this troika of relatively young pitchers — 2010 will be Sheets’ age 31 season, Duchscherer’s age 32
season and Harden’s age 28 season.

“You can never have enough pitching” may be the most tired adage in the game of baseball, but it will also always be true, and potentially adding, say, Sheets and Harden or Duchscherer and Harden would give the Yankees unrivaled starting pitching depth. Sabathia, Burnett, Pettitte, Joba, Hughes, and some combination of Sheets, Duchscherer or Harden would not only be the deepest staff in the league but would be far, far cheaper than trading for Halladay or signing Lackey.